A. Administration. The planning department of the City of Asheville shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of this article. The director of planning shall appoint a sign administrator to administer and enforce the terms and conditions of this article and all other provisions of laws relating to signs. The duties of the sign administrator shall include not only the issuance of permits as required in subsection (B) of this section, but also enforcement of the provisions of this article.
B. Permit requirements.
1. General requirements. Except as otherwise provided in section 30-9-3(C) and 30-9-3(D), it shall be unlawful to erect or maintain any sign or sign structure without first obtaining a sign permit. Application for the permit shall be made in writing on forms furnished by the sign administrator and signed by the applicant or authorized agent. No permit shall be required, however, for the maintenance requirements of section 30-9-7 hereinafter. Failure to secure a permit shall constitute a violation of this article.
2. Plans, specifications and other data required. The application shall be accompanied by complete information as required on forms provided by the sign administrator and shall include, without being limited to, a site plan and elevation drawings of the proposed sign, a drawing of the building facade indicating the proposed location of the sign, height, dimensions and square footage of the proposed sign and any other data as the sign administrator may determine is necessary for review of the application. The sign administrator shall not issue a sign permit unless the plans, specifications and intended use of such sign conform in all respects to the applicable provisions of this article.
3. Fees.
(a) Generally. A sign permit fee shall be paid to the City of Asheville for each sign permit applied for in accordance with this article in an amount determined by the City of Asheville through the adoption of its fees and charges manual and based on the size of the sign. This permit fee does not include electrical permit fees, which shall be additional. A sign permit fee shall not be charged for replacing a nonconforming sign with a conforming sign or for bringing a nonconforming sign into conformance with this article if such action is undertaken voluntarily within three years of the effective date of this article.
(b) When fees payable. Sign permit fees shall be paid upon the application for a sign permit and prior to commencement of any sign construction on the lot where the sign will be located.
(c) Late fee. Work performed without a permit shall be subject to a late fee as set forth in the City of Asheville fees and charges manual.
4. Revocation of permits for nonuse.
(a) Commencement of work. If actual work for the permitted sign on the site is not commenced within 60 days from the date of such sign permit or if substantial work for the permitted sign is suspended for a period of 60 consecutive days after issuance of the sign permit, the permit shall automatically become null and void. Provided, however, for new construction, the sign permit shall not become null and void until 60 days after the certificate of compliance has been issued.
(b) Extensions of time. The provisions of subsection (a) above shall not apply when delays are not a result of willful acts or neglect of the persons obtaining the permit. In that event, the sign administrator may grant an extension of time within which operations must be started or resumed. All requests for such extensions and approval thereof shall be in writing.
5. Forfeiture of fees. When any permit has been revoked under the terms of this article, the permit fees shall not be refunded. If a sign permit is denied, however, the permit fee will be refunded.
6. Licenses.
(a) Sign contractor's license. No person shall engage in the business of erecting or maintaining signs in the City of Asheville unless said person has been issued a sign contractor's license which has not expired at the time said work is done. This requirement shall be interpreted to exclude those persons who construct and erect a principal use identification sign when that sign is used at that person's place of business, provided all construction and installation is properly permitted and inspected for compliance with the applicable building codes of the City of Asheville and other sections of this article.
(b) Outdoor advertising license. No person shall erect or maintain off-premises advertising structures in the City of Asheville unless said person has been issued an outdoor advertising license which has not expired at the time said work is done. In order to obtain an outdoor advertising license, the licensee must be a licensed sign contractor, as described in subsection (a) above, and must submit annually upon renewal of this license a listing of all sign structures leased, owned or maintained by the licensee. Such list shall give the specific location of each sign by reference to ward, sheet and tax lot number as indicated on the Buncombe County tax maps and by reference to the name of the property owner.
1. Signs which are not designed to be visible beyond the boundaries of the lot upon which they are located and/or from any public thoroughfare or right-of-way, except as such signs may be regulated hereinafter.
2. Official governmental notices and notices posted by governmental officers in the performance of their duties; governmental signs or signs installed under governmental authority which note the donation of buildings, structures or streetscape materials (such as, but not limited to, benches, trash cans, lampposts and park facilities).
3. Flags, pennants, or insignia of any nation, organization of nations, state, county or city, any religious, civic or fraternal organization, or any educational or cultural facility and/or any one corporate flag per lot; except when such are used in connection with a commercial promotion or as an advertising device or as an integral part of a sign regulated under this article.
4. Temporary decorations or displays, when such are clearly incidental to and are customarily and commonly associated with any national, local or religious holiday/celebration.
5. Temporary or permanent signs erected by public utility companies or construction companies to warn of danger or hazardous conditions, including signs indicating the presence of underground cables, gas lines and similar devices or signs providing directions around such conditions.
6. Merchandise, pictures or models of products or services which are incorporated as an integral part of a window display.
7. Unless such signs are used in the manner prohibited under section 30-9-4 hereinafter, signs displayed on trucks, buses, trailers or other vehicles which are being operated in the normal course of a business, such as signs indicating the name of the owner or business and which are affixed or painted onto moving vans, delivery trucks, contractors' vehicles and equipment and the like, are exempt from regulation, provided that, when not being so operated, such vehicles are parked or stored in areas appropriate to their use as vehicles and in such a manner and location on the lot so as to minimize their visibility from any street to the greatest extent feasible.
8. Trademarks or product names which are displayed as part of vending machines, dispensing machines, automatic teller machines, and gasoline pumps.
9. Signs required for or specifically authorized for a public purpose by any law, statute or ordinance. These signs may be of any type, number, area, height above grade, location or illumination authorized by law, statute or ordinance under which such signs are required or authorized.
10. Signs that display information pertinent to the safety or legal responsibilities of the general public with regard to a particular piece of property shall be located on the premises to which the information pertains. No advertising may be affixed to such a sign.
11. Signs attached to buildings existing as of the effective date of this article which identify buildings and which are permanently integrated by etching, embossing and/or engraving or which are otherwise permanently made a part of building facades. These signs specifically include, but are not limited to, commemorative cornerstones.
12. Signs designated to be historically significant and/or landmark signs by the city council provided the signs satisfy one or more of the following criteria:
(a) The sign is significant to the history of the City of Asheville, including, but not limited to, the character of the city as a tourist attraction or cultural center.
(b) The sign is unique, notably aesthetic, or creative so as to make a significant contribution as a work of art.
(c) The sign merits recognition as an important example of technology, craftsmanship, materials or design of the period in which it was constructed and may no longer be economically feasible to produce or manufacture the sign today.
13. Temporary signs providing directions or other information in conjunction with a community festival or event permitted under section 25-16.1 [16-97] of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Asheville.
14. Signs affixed to windows of vehicles displaying the terms of sale for said vehicles.
D. Signs exempt from permit requirement. The following signs are allowed in all zoning districts and shall not require a sign permit. However, such signs shall conform to the requirements set forth below as well as to other applicable requirements of this article.
1. Real estate signs. Temporary signs advertising the sale, rental or lease of the property on which said signs are located are allowed, provided such signs are nonilluminated and do not exceed two signs per lot, do not exceed four feet in height and do not exceed four square feet per face for property zoned residential or do not exceed eight feet in height and do not exceed 32 square feet per face for property zoned other than residential. All such signs shall be removed within seven days after the closing of the sale, rental, or lease of the property.
2. Commemorative signs. Commemorative signs which do not exceed eight square feet per face in area and eight feet in height.
3. Directional signs. Directional signs shall be located on the premises to which directions are indicated. If advertising (name or logo) is used on these signs it shall be computed as part of the total allowable sign area for a lot. Directional signs shall not exceed four square feet per face, two faces per sign, and shall not exceed three feet in height if freestanding or six feet in height if attached to the principal or an accessory structure. The maximum number of signs allowed per lot shall be four. These signs may be internally or externally illuminated.
4. Incidental signs. Signs containing information necessary or convenient for persons coming on to a premises shall be located on the premises to which the information pertains. No advertising may be affixed to such a sign and these signs shall be single-faced only and wholly attached to a building (including the windows or doors). If advertising (name or logo) is used on these signs it shall be computed as part of the total allowable signage for a lot.
5. Copy changes and maintenance. No permit shall be required for copy changes made to a changeable copy sign, menu board, marquee sign or off-premises sign; provided any such changes do not change the classification of the sign under this article. No permit shall be required for maintenance where no structural changes are made.
6. Political signs. Signs of candidates for election or for issues on a ballot shall be allowed in any zoning district providing such signs do not exceed eight square feet in area per display face and two faces per sign. All such signs may not be erected prior to 30 days before the appropriate primary or 45 days before the appropriate general or run-off or referendum and must be removed within five days after the primary, general or run-off election or referendum. Provided, however, nothing herein shall prohibit the use of off-premise signs for such candidates or issues according to the restrictions for such signs in zoning districts where they are permitted. Such off-premises signs shall not be subject to the time limits for erection prior to or removal following any election. In all cases, the property owner and the political candidate shall be equally responsible for the removal of the signs.
7. Construction signs. Construction signs shall be allowed provided such signs do not exceed one sign per street frontage with a maximum of two signs per construction site. Such signs shall not exceed four square feet in area per display face, two faces per sign for single-family or duplex residential construction or 32 square feet in area per display face for multifamily residential or nonresidential construction, and a maximum of ten feet in height. Construction signs shall not be erected prior to the issuance of a building permit and shall be removed within seven days of the issuance of a certificate of compliance.
E. Noncommercial messages. Any sign, display, or device allowed under this article may contain, in lieu of any other copy, any otherwise lawful noncommercial message that does not direct attention to a business operated for profit, or to a commodity or service for sale, and that complies with size, lighting, and spacing requirements of this article.
(Ord. No. 1863, § 2(30-9-3), 8-28-90; Ord. No. 2076, § 1, 2-15-94; Ord. No. 2369, § 1, 5-27-97)